Apex Racing News Archives - BangShift.com

Old School Cool Video: This 1974 Film From Perfect Circle Piston Rings Showcases Indy, Manufacturing, Lloyd Ruby

Brian Lohnes — Tue, 26 Mar 2024 08:27:42 +0000

This is a gem of a video. Made by the Perfect Circle Piston Ring Company in 1974 it takes us through the world of manufacturing rings from conception to actual quality control tasing. It also takes us to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the running of the 1974 Indy 500 and that in an of itself is awesome. Lloyd Ruby who was truly one of the best race drivers in the world at this time is the leading man and that’s the only major mistake made with this film. He’s so unintentionally hilarious it is hard to not crack up every time he speaks. There are guys who stiffen up on camera and then there’s a new state of matter that Ruby becomes with the camera is on him.

The neater parts of this video are when we get to go and see how the rings become a finished product (circa 1974, we’re guessing things have advanced slightly in 45 years). There’s loads of testing and R&D work being done in this video and we understand that it’s the same way for large piston ring manufacturers today as well. The basic ideology is largely the same but the methods, accuracy, and specs have all changed over the decades.

The last section of the video is a throwback to an era of engine work that really does not exist anymore. There’s a basic “how-to” that concentrates on how to perform a ring-job on an engine. How many times do we hear of cars getting a set of rings and sent back out on the road, anymore. Sure racing engines get them and perhaps if you buy an old truck or something and want to get it roadworthy but re-ringing the engine in the modern service life of a car is kind of a lost action anymore.

This is a fun watch.

Press play below to see this fascinating 1974 video from Perfect Circle Piston Rings –

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Cool Historic Video: Watch Walter Cronkite Cruise A Sports Car, and Check Out Vintage In-Car Racing Action From Lime Rock!

Brian Lohnes — Tue, 19 Dec 2023 10:09:55 +0000

Walter Cronkite was a car guy, no kidding. He was a sports car guy, having fallen in love with the small speedy cars while working as a front line war correspondent during WWII. Cronkite owned and raced a Lotus at tracks all over the country from Lime Rock on down. In fact, in 1960 he was part of a live broadcast from Daytona and one of the filmed segments featured in-car footage of him ripping around the “super track” at more than 130mph in said Lotus. In this video we do not get the Lotus but we do get the man in a sports car.

We’re not sure from exactly what show or series this footage came from but we do know that it was shot in Connecticut and it’s Cronkite in an Austin-Healey cruising to the legendary road course known as Lime Rock. This would have been the era when John Fitch was working as the track manager and hosting weekly races for sports car enthusiasts.

Cronkite waxes poetic about sports cars, why people love them, and how fun they are on the way to the track and then once there we get to see a load of neat cars, some identifiable and some home built “specials” being pushed to the grid. Beyond Lime Rock we see Cronkite in Monaco among other places. What a gig, right?!

The amount of guys who legitimately loved cars you’d never expect is long. Many of them newsmen! Perhaps the most unlikely Sunbeam Tiger owner ever was Andy Rooney but he bought it new and owned it until the day he died, writing joyfully about thrashing the little car on fun bending roads. Enjoy this glimpse into the history of sports cars!

Press play below to see Walter Cronkite cruising and some awesome racing footage –

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OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car at Portland: The last West Coast event of the year brings plenty of action!

Chad Reynolds — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 14:36:05 +0000

(Words by Jim McIlvaine, Photos by Kaleb Kelley) Usually, after four events in OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car, presented by Advance Auto Parts, we can start predicting who might be in the championship chase and who might be setting themselves up to earn invitations to the SEMA Show and OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational, based on their projected points for the season. However, 2023 is an unusual year. With more than half of the events run, there are still many unknowns.

The reason is that three of the first four stops in this year’s series took place West of the Rocky Mountains. That means a large percentage of competitors have only run one event so far with three events East of the Mississippi, many haven’t even run their first event yet. The best we can do at this point is to tell you who the top finishers were at the Portland event and who the cars are to beat after the first four events:

Viking Performance GT Class (post-1989, 3,200+ pounds, 2wd sedans, 4-seater coupes, etc…)
1. Dave Schotz, 2022 Chevrolet Camaro
2. Matt Ramirez, 2004 Ford Mustang
3. Jake Jackson, 2018 Chevrolet Camaro

Current Points Leader: Dave Schotz 2022 Chevrolet Camaro

Classic Car Liquidators GTV Class (pre-1990, 3200+ pounds)
1. Frankie Trutanic, 1986 Buick Regal
2. Rick Ray, 1971 Chevrolet Camaro
3. Scott Timmons, 1967 Chevrolet Camaro

Current Points Leader: Ryan Breezee 1969 Chevrolet Camaro

GTS Class (post-1989, 3200+ pounds, two-seaters & awd vehicles)
1. Jordan Priestley, 2021 Tesla Model 3
2. Koda Atwood, 2022 Tesla Model 3
3. Brad Larsen, 2016 Chevrolet Corvette

Current Points Leader: Bob Sobey 2013 Nissan GT-R

GTL Class (non-compacts under 3200 pounds)
1. Austin Keys, 2002 Subaru WRX
2. Ricky Lammi, 1977 Datsun 280Z
3. Terry Breezee, 2008 Chevrolet Corvette

Current Points Leader: Austin Keys 2002 Subaru WRX

No Limit Engineering GTT Class (Trucks & SUVs over 3200 pounds)
1. Dustin Reed, 1972 Chevrolet C10
2. Connor Hoovler, 1972 Ford F100
3. David Carroll, 1974 Chevrolet Blazer

Current Points Leader: Dustin Reed 1972 Chevrolet C10

GeauxMoto GTC Class (two-wheel drive compacts, 107-inch wheelbase or less)
1. Matt Davis, 2021 Mazda MX-5
2. Jordan Filip, 2003 Toyota Corolla
3. Sean Fogli, 2004 Honda S2000

Current Points Leader: Dayton de la Houssaye 2016 Mazda MX-5

Arrington Performance Lucky 7 Outlaw Class (relaxed aero rules, pro drivers allowed)
1. Duke Langley, 2002 Chevrolet Corvette
2. Danny Weller, 2019 Chevrolet Camaro
3. John Sims, 2011 Ford Mustang

Current Points Leader: Duke Langley 2002 Chevrolet Corvette

2023 OPTIMA Search for the Ultimate Street Car Schedule
Thunderhill Raceway March 3-5
NOLA Motorsports Park March 10-12
Laguna Seca May 5-7
Portland International Raceway July 21-23
Road America July 29-30
Daytona International Speedway August 11-13
VIRginia International Raceway October 6-8
OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational Las Vegas October 31- November 6

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Amazing On Board Footage! Robin Shute’s Wild Ride To Win The 2023 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

Chad Reynolds — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 12:03:58 +0000

Pikes Peak is one of the wonders of North America and for too long to remember there have been people racing to the top of it. Sure the road has changed over the years, going from dirt to pavement a few years ago, but the danger and excitement is still there and the cars and trucks that are racing there are a whole other level of insane sometimes. It’s an event that has garnered attention from both American and international drivers over the years and some of the most famous drivers in other series are often seen on the mountain trying to prove they can make it happen when the pressure is on, the guardrails are gone, and the risks are high.

Here is some badass video from the winning run at the 2023 Pikes Peak Hillclimb, you are going to want to see.

Video Description:

Full onboard video from Robin Shutes “wild ride” during his winning 2023 pikes peak run. Robin battled shift failures, tire wear, and brake issues to get to the top with a total time 8:40, the 4th fastest time ever at pikes peak. #pikespeak #motorsport #racing #racecar

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What If They Threw A Race And The Wrong Racers Came – That Happened In England In 1972 – The Rothmans 50,000

Brian Lohnes — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 08:49:48 +0000

The wrong racers? How can the wrong racers show up to a race? Not like the wrong racers like the cars were illegal but the wrong racers in the fact that they had the wrong names ON their cars and the fact that they came from the wrong classes. This is the story of the Rothmans 50,000 the richest motor race in Europe for the 1972 racing season. It was a race born from the marketing department of a huge tobacco company in England that played out just like one would expect when the marketing department takes the reigns on anything automotive related. That being said the plan was brilliant, it was the execution that sucked eggs.

Conceptually, this race was as big a home run as everyone in the conference room the day it was conceived thought. A payout that was unprecedented at the time, rules that were literally wide open, and a race track that was one of the best known in the world meant that the biggest stars from the wide universe of motorsports globally would be there with a massive variety of equipment. The show would be a spectacle and Rothmans tobacco would be at the center of it all.

In basic terms, Rothmans committed 100,000 British pounds in 1972 (the equivalent to $16 million US bucks today) to put on the race to end all races. There were basically no rules as the contest was to be run Formula Libre style. Formula Libre was the fancy pants European way of saying “run what ya brung”. With this money the expectation was that NASCAR teams, Formula One teams, the top sports car racing teams in the world, Trans Am cars, and others would show up to beat each others’ brains in for the massive payout. The first huge problem was scheduling.

The event was run in the heart of the racing season across the world, basically causing teams that were championship level in all of the genres these people were trying to get to immediately disregard it. If the event had been held somewhere or sometime when it was more readily accessible by teams they likely would have participated but the date was the first and most major thing that annihilated this event’s possibility to be as successful as possible.

Then things got worse for Rothmans. Emerson Fittipaldi committed to the race. The good news was that this was a globally premier driver in a Formula One car. The bad news is that this was a Formula One car sponsored by John Players, a leading tobacco brand in direct competition with Rothmans, the sponsor of the race. Initially John Players was skeptical of being involved and Fittipaldi was going to be sponsored by a south American coffee brand. The car was even painted that way. Then word got out that they were basically the only F1 car and John Players decided that they did want to be on the car if for no other reason than to publicly take Rothmans money.

Why were the John Players people so confident? Fittipaldi was taking on a field of Formula 2, Formula 5000, and lesser cars. There was one decent sports car entered, but this was King Kong showing up and taking a swing at the strong man’s game at the county fair. Complete and utter domination. Fittipaldi lapped nearly everyone, got paid, and John Players was beyond happy. Rothmans was not and there’s a simple way to know.

The very first video minimizes Fittipaldi’s video time and you never actually see a full John Players logo. In fact, the narrator mentions his sponsor as being a coffee company! We cannot find a full length video of the race, which is weird because you know Rothmans paid for it. Maybe with the failure of the concept they decides to shelve the film?

Amazingly there was another element of the race that we can find no video of but was recognized as being a closer contest than the main event. The pre-race activity was a celebrity tractor race! Ford gave event organizers like a dozen or so big tractors and the competitors jumped in and hauled as much ass as they could. Fittipaldi did not win that one but the tractor race didn’t pay the big money.

Not surprisingly, this was the one and only Rothmans 50,000 ever held. If they had utilized someone that knew an ounce about racing this could be an event we were all still talking about. Instead it was a glorious failure and a glorious payday for Emerson Fittipaldi!

Below are the two videos we could find about the race, unfortunately no video record seems to exist regarding the tractor event!

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Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Extended Highlight Video: IndyCar Series Racing On The Streets Of Detroit

Chad Reynolds — Tue, 06 Jun 2023 17:11:40 +0000

While watching IndyCars flying around a big oval or a dedicated road course, is cool, it isn’t nearly as fun to watch as a streets course like the ones found in Detroit, Long Beach, Toronto, and more each and every year. This streets courses bring an entirely different experience for fans as well and make for a citywide experience you just don’t get when the race is held outside of town at a dedicated racing facility. With that said, the streets courses are often criticized for their layouts, size, and more. In the case of Detroit, the course got lots of criticism for being narrow, and for having a lot of straights with tight 90-degree corners at the ends.

Those things may have made it more difficult on the drivers, but it sure made for an action-packed and exciting weekend for fans. Check out the extended highlights video below and let us know what you think.

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Driven In Anger: Watch John Surtees Drive A Honda RA300 V12 F1 Car Like He Is In His Prime!

Brian Lohnes — Wed, 31 May 2023 08:00:45 +0000

Ok, this is phenomenal. You are about to watch the legendary John Surtees attack the hill at Goodwood in a screaming V12 Honda RA300 Formula One car, just like the ones he raced in during his prime. As many of your know, Surtees is the only guy (still!) to have ever won the world motorcycle grand prix championship and the formula one title as well. It looks like that’s something which will never happen again as the disciplines, schedules, and commitments to compete in both series are seemingly impossible to balance. But that was then. This video shows Surtees as an elder statesman but as someone who clearly exhibits the kind of competitive fire and driving fury that made him a world champion.

This might be the hardest drive we have seen anyone make in a vintage car up the hill. By that we mean the hardest anyone has ever pushed on one of these old cars. The modern stuff gets run hard but an old car like this one? He’s beating the snot out of the thing. Hell, at one point he is making like 110mph!

Of course the sound of the V12 engine is spectacular, the stagger of the front to rear tires, the way that the suspension clearly works on every bump and corner, the whole scene is just about perfect. You don’t have to know a lick about this car or John Surtees to love this video. Just crank the speakers and watch human and mechanical greatness at work together.

Press play below to see John Surtees himself wrangle a V12 Honda F1 car at Goodwood –

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Gearhead History! Killer Ads and Cool Stuff From The Pages of Motor Life Magazine Circa 1960-62

Brian Lohnes — Tue, 21 Mar 2023 08:44:20 +0000

So one of the things I have been enraptured with during the winter so far has been this massive collection of old magazines that I was fortunate enough to receive as a gift from the Kuntz family of ECTA racing fame. I have been doing my best to comb them for cool stories, funny stuff, and just interesting gearhead history in general. You’ve seen some of that stuff on the blog already so I thought it was time to throw down old school and show you some ads and other junk from a series of Motor Life magazines I was combing through the other day.

From the flying stock cars to the sawed in half small block Chevy, Motor Life was a magazine that certainly skewed to the new car stuff but covered drag racing, Bonneville, and stock car racing closely on a month to month basis. It was a general car magazine the likes of which doesn’t really exist anymore. They even did stuff wit customs for a while which is interesting as well.

These are ads and a couple of interesting photos thrown in for good measure. The ads range from cool ones featuring such luminaries as a young Eddie Hill to funny stuff like the full page 1961 Harley-Davidson ad that came long before the company’s current “bad ass” imagery that they like to project.

Go-karts, dragsters, AJ Foyt, Don Garlits, a blown Cadillac powered Italian sports car on its way down the strip, Jimmy Dolittle and Dr. Moss studying a 290lb WWII era “turbosupercharger”, new car ads from the likes of Ford, Chevy, Pontiac, and Chrysler, there’s plenty to look at in this trip back more than a half century in automotive history! Enjoy ’em all.

Check out these images below and you can click on them to expand!

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Holley’s LSFest West Pre-Registration Is Open! Register Now Before It Sells Out!

Chad Reynolds — Sat, 28 Jan 2023 12:30:42 +0000

Here we go folks! LSFest West pre-registration is live and ready to take your entries. This is the biggest and baddest event in the west and if you want to come out and enjoy everything LS and LT related, all under the lights in Vegas, then this is the event for you. Pre-registration means you are going to save money on your registration and lock in your spot! Don’t wait because there are limited entries for Autocross and Grand Champion competitions and this even fills up faster and faster every year. You are going to want to register now so you don’t miss out on any of the fun!

2023 Preregistration is Now Live!

All registration credentials pick-up is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next to the dirt oval track (no off-site pickup is provided).

Las Vegas Motor Speedway
7000 Las Vegas Blvd. N.
Las Vegas, NV 89115

2023 LS Fest Waiver | All competitors must complete the required event waiver prior to arrival. The waiver is a 2-step process.

Step 1) Fill out the waiver & submit it | Step 2) Verify your email to secure your valid waiver.

Note: Both Driver and their plus one must complete the waiver. Once the 2-part process is complete, you’ll receive an email – print that email OR come to registration with the QR code on your smartphone to be scanned at packet pick up.

All drivers must present their government-issued driver’s license to pick up registration packets.
All plus ones must present their driver’s license and QR code from their completed waiver to pick up their wristband.
If plus one doesn’t arrive w/driver their wristband will be at via WILL CALL (same location) for pick up later on.

Important Notes: Only listed registrants can pick up credentials. Plus one does not admit an additional vehicle into the event. All participants must stop at registration for credential pick up. Confirmation letters aren’t needed at registration, but a valid driver’s license, proof of insurance, & the vehicle’s valid government issued registration are required. Email us @LSFest@holley.com with additional registration questions.

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Dakar 2023 Is On! Check Out Killer Stage 1-4 Video And Highlights From The 2023 Dakar Rally!

Chad Reynolds — Thu, 05 Jan 2023 13:47:17 +0000

Stage 1-4 Extended Highlights are below! Hours of great DAKAR 2023 coverage!

Dakar 2023 is on and man is it already living up to its reputation of being one of the toughest races in the world. Famous racers and teams, well known for their prowess in the sand and on Dakar in general, have already been struggling which is just more proof of how gnarly this race really is. There are a lot of new cars and new teams mixed in with proven cars and older teams, but it’s the little things that matter at Dakar. If you don’t take care of your equipment, and keep your teams and people healthy, then you’ll never finish and if you don’t finish you can’t win. This race goes all over Saudi Arabia and will subject drivers and riders to all kinds of sand terrain and more. But the sand is what swallows teams. It’s the most fierce of the challenges. Will 2023 prove to be tougher even than 2022?

Would you run at Dakar if given the chance?

Let us know in the comments section below.

CLICK HERE IF YOU MISSED ANY OF THE OTHER VIDEOS

Video Description:

STAGE 4:

Car stage winner: SEBASTIEN LOEB / FABIAN LURQUIN (BAHRAIN RAID XTREME) Bike stage winner: JOAN BARREDA BORT (MONSTER ENERGY JB TEAM) Truck stage winner: MARTIN MACIK / FRANTISEK TOMASEK / DAVID SVANDA (MM TECHNOLOGY) Dakar Classic Leader: LUIS PEDRALS MAROT / JAN ROSA I VIÑAS (TH-TRUCKS TEAM)

Relive all the action from Stage 4 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, as drivers take on soft, tricky dunes in the loop around Ha’il.

STAGE 3:

Car stage winner: GUERLAIN CHICHERIT / ALEX WINOCQ (GCK MOTORSPORT) Bike stage winner: DANIEL SANDERS (RED BULL GASGAS FACTORY RACING) Truck stage winner: Dakar Classic Leader: SERGE MOGNO / FLORENT DRULHON (TEAM FSO)

Relive all the action from Stage 3 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, which proved treacherous for key contenders in the premier cars and bikes categories.

STAGE 2:

Car stage winner: NASSER AL-ATTIYAH / MATHIEU BAUMEL (TOYOTA GAZOO RACING) Bike stage winner: MASON KLEIN (BAS WORLD KTM RACING TEAM) Truck stage winner: ALES LOPRAIS / PETR POKORA / JAROSLAV VALTR JR (INSTAFOREX LOPRAIS PRAGA) Dakar Classic Leader: JUAN MORERA / LIDIA RUBA (TOYOTA CLASSIC)

Don’t miss highlights from Stage 2 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, an arduous and rocky 589.07 km journey from Sea Camp to Alula.

STAGE 1:

Car stage winner: CARLOS SAINZ / LUCAS CRUZ (TEAM AUDI SPORT) Bike stage winner: RICKY BRABEC (MONSTER ENERGY HONDA TEAM) Truck stage winner: MARTIN MACIK / FRANTISEK TOMASEK / DAVID SVANDA (MM TECHNOLOGY) Dakar Classic Leader: JEROME GALPIN / ANNE GALPIN (TEAM FJ)

Watch highlights from Stage 1 of the 2023 Dakar Rally, which followed the outline of the Saudi Arabian coast from 30km inland on the way to Yanbyu and beyond and a course total of 368km.

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